Undead
Undead is one of the most popular songs by Hollywood Undead, released as the second single off of Swan Songs. It was initially created in 2007 when it was intended to be released on Hollywood Undead. Once the band signed to another label and began work on Swan Songs, they re-recorded and remastered the song for the album. Overview When asked about who or what the attacks in the song are pointed towards, the band answered with their record label, which at the time was MySpace Records. When re-recording the song under the label of A&M/Octone, the band kept the same lyrics. In this article by Kerrang!, Johnny 3 Tears talks about the track: "In many ways, Undead was the sound of our frustration. It was written at the point where we'd just come into the corporate side of the music industry. We'd come so far, from being little street kids telling our street stories to being signed to a major label. We began to think that we'd made it, but the funny part is that's actually where the difficulty really started. All of a sudden you're involved in a world that you don't understand. You're involved with lawyers. You're involved with management. You're involved with multi-tiered corporations that basically want to package things up and turn your music into a fucking TV dinner that's digestible to everybody. That was really hard for us. We were basically told that we had to censor the whole record. We were like, 'Woah, woah, we thought you signed us because you liked what we did?' They were like, 'We do, but we've got to make this more acceptable to middle-America and people across the ocean.' We were so worked-up. The writing-process came about after the rejection of that first album we'd turned-in. That was so disagreeable to us – in every sense. It was the moment our frustrations boiled over. Looking back, there's obviously a lot of anger in there. We basically wanted to do a drive-by on the A&R guys because we were so pissed off. It was almost like an invalidation of the success you had to begin with: just very, very tough. You can't handle a problem with lawyers out on the street the same way that you handled things growing up. I didn't have a million dollars to go hire a lawyer; I didn't even understand what the lawyers were talking about! All of a sudden you find yourself in this grid and you can't get out. We thought it was our music, and we had the right to say when it came out. But then they point to some clause in the contract and remind us that we can't do anything until they tell us to. Anything we did, they owned. Granted, it was our fault. We were the dumb kids who signed the piece of paper, but we didn't have anything else. We were all poor as shit and could barely even feed ourselves. When someone hands you half a million dollars, you'll sign anything they put in front of you. And we did. It's kind of like the deal with the Devil himself. We thought we were signing something that was going to give us freedom; we were actually signing something that effectively put us in a prison. Undead's lyrics came from our understanding of the trade we'd made and feeling that betrayal. The first thing you better learn is none of these guys are your friends. They're looking out for themselves. No one is looking out for you but yourself. Unfortunately, we found that out the hard way. You have this innate sense of trust for them when you're young because you think that they know something that you don't. But there are snakes in suits everywhere. At the same time, it's not some airbrushed pop song. The part that is the most bizarre – the most ironic – is that you write this song in defiance of the record label and the music industry, and it's the song that they use to have commercial success. That's the thing about that song that's always felt hilarious to me. We make this track to say 'Fuck you!' to the label, and they just use it to make the most money. If that doesn't bite you in the ass I don't know what will. It was a backburner song, too. We never thought it was going to be big for us. The label never thought that was going to be a single. We never even thought it would even be commercially acceptable. It's five minutes long, it's got every cuss-word you can think of in it, it's got every piece of violent imagery you can imagine, and it's actively targeted at the group of people who got fat off the back of it. It's funny to me now, knowing what I know. It shows just how good those record labels are: they'll take everything you can throw at them and use it against you. Over the years, I've come to see how the song has come to define this band, but I don't necessarily like it. I love the song – I have no problem with the song – but I feel like, artistically speaking, we have written songs that are much better, that have much more depth to them, and that are much more important to us as people, about love and loss and those more important aspects of life. It just so happens that the song that means so much to everyone else is a song about getting drunk and beating the shit out of people!" Reception It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and #10 on the Mainstream Rock chart. Official Lyrics Undead! (Undead) Undead! (Undead) Undead! (Undead) Undead! (Undead) (Undead!) You better get up out the way Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today You know I don't give a fuck what you think and say 'Cause we're gonna rock this whole place anyway (Undead!) You better get up out the way Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today You know I don't give a fuck what you think and say 'Cause we're gonna rock this whole place anyway Look up and see that motherfucking writing on the wall When you see J3T thirty deep, he's down to brawl Fuck all haters I see 'cause I hate that you breathe I see you duck, you little punk, you little fucking disease I got HU tatted on the front of my arms The boulevard, brass knuckles in the back of the car 'Cause we drunk-drive Cadillacs, we never go far But when you see us motherfuckers, better know who we are I got one thing to say to punk-asses who hate Motherfuckers don't know but you better watch what you say From these industry fucks to these faggot-ass punks You don't know what it takes to get this motherfucking drunk I'm already loud, maybe, it's a little too late Johnny's taking heads off of all faggots who hate 'Cause I'm like God, motherfucker, there's a price to pay Yeah, I'm a God, motherfucker, and it's Judgment Day! (Undead!) You better get up out the way Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today You know I don't give a fuck what you think and say 'Cause we're gonna rock this whole place anyway (Undead!) You better get up out the way Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today You know I don't give a fuck what you think and say 'Cause we're gonna rock this whole place anyway (Charlie Scene!) I'm getting used to this nuisance of fags who badmouth this music How fucking stupid and foolish of you to think you can do this You cowards can't, you never will, don't even try to pursue it I took the chance, I played the bill, I nearly died for this music You make me wanna run around pulling my guns out and shit You're tempting me to run my mouth and call you out on this, bitch How ignorant you gotta be to believe any of this You need to slit your wrists, get pissed, and go jump off a bridge What? You can't see the sarcasm in the verses I spit? What? You think I just got lucky, didn't work for this shit? Bitch, I've been working at this ever since I was a kid I've played a million empty shows to only family and friends What kind of person would diss a band that deserves to get big? I'd hate to be that person when my verse comes out their kid's lips That shit's as worse as it gets, this verse is over, I quit Signed "Charlie Scene" on your girlfriend's tits! (Undead!) You better get up out the way Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today You know I don't give a fuck what you think and say 'Cause we're gonna rock this whole place anyway (Undead!) You better get up out the way Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today You know I don't give a fuck what you think and say 'Cause we're gonna rock this whole place anyway (J-J-Dog!) White boys with tattoos, p-pointing right at you We're breaking everything, r-rowdy like a classroom Pack of wolves 'cause we don't follow the rules And when you're running your mouth, our razor blades come out B-but you always press and you know I never stress With Loki DMS, J-Johnny to my left Got Phantom and the rest who are down to rep the west I grew up on drive-bys and LA gang signs So what the fuck you know about being a gangster? (Uh-huh!) And what the fuck you know about being in danger? (Whoa!) You ain't doing this so you know you're just talking shit Mad at all of us 'cause every song is a fucking hit! (Undead!) You better get up out the way Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today You know I don't give a fuck what you think and say 'Cause we're gonna rock this whole place anyway (Undead!) You better get up out the way Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today You know I don't give a fuck what you think and say 'Cause we're gonna rock this whole place anyway (Undead!) Motherfucking time to ride, ride (Undead!) See you duck when we drive-by (Undead!) Motherfucking time to ride, ride (Undead!) Won't you punks just die, die, die? (Undead!) Background vocals *Charlie Scene sings "you know I don't give a fuck what you think and say" behind Deuce on the choruses. *Deuce says "3-3-Tears" in the background before Johnny's verse starts. *Deuce says "J3T" behind Johnny 3 Tears in a modulated voice on the line "when you see J3T thirty-deep, he's down to brawl". *Da Kurlzz screams "get up out the way" and "tomorrow we'll rise" behind Deuce on every chorus. *Da Kurlzz shouts "Charlie Scene!" in the background before Charlie's verse starts. *Da Kurlzz shouts "bitch!" behind Charlie Scene on the line "you're tempting me to run my mouth and call you out on this, bitch!" *Da Kurlzz shouts "J-J-Dog!" in the background before J-Dog's verse starts. *Da Kurlzz shouts "r-rowdy like a classroom" behind J-Dog. *Da Kurlzz shouts "stress!" behind J-Dog on the line "b-but you always press and you know I never stress". *Da Kurlzz shouts "LA gang signs" behind J-Dog. *Da Kurlzz shouts "being in danger" behind J-Dog. Reception The song peaked at #10 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #12 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and #4 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. "Undead" was released as a 7" single in the United Kingdom on HMV with "Circles" as a B-side track. During Super Bowl XLIII, a trailer aired for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," which featured "Undead" as the trailer's theme song. The song is also featured in the video games "UFC 2009: Undisputed," and is part of the soundtrack of "Madden NFL 09." MMA fighter Josh Neer used this song as his entrance music during UFC 101. The song was used in the New York Knicks' 2009-2010 introduction video. The song was used in the NBC telecast of WrestleMania XXV, highlighting the match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Most recently, the song was used in a television spot trailer for the 2011 remake film, "Conan the Barbarian." The song was also used for Shiima Xion during his run in the indie circuit. For the 2011-2012 season, the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League used the song for their pre-game player introductions. In 2012, Deuce remade the song under the title Nine Lives. This version consists of Deuce performing the original chorus, with a few lyrical changes. Deuce also sings over Johnny 3 Tears' verse, making slight changes to some lines. This track was used as a promotional release for Deuce's debut solo album, Nine Lives. It was played in October 4, 2017, during a Penguins game against the Blues at the PPG Paints Arena after Paul Stastny scored a goal in the third. 2007 version *Da Kurlzz and Johnny 3 Tears are the only ones screaming "Undead!" during the intro and outro. *Da Kurlzz's background screams during the chorus are louder. *When Deuce sings "you know I don't give a fuck what you think and say" during the chorus, Charlie Scene sings the line with him. *When Johnny says "when you see J3T," a beeping noise is played in the background in unison with the word "J3T." *J-Dog has an extra couplet of lines in his verse right after he says "and when you're running your mouth, our razor blades come out". These lines are: "Because there's nothing in my life except my dick and what I spi-spit/So my dick is in my hand when I respond to faggots talking shit/Speaking of fag, already rapped with the drag/We killed him then we stuffed his body in the Cadillac." **These bars were probably omitted since they mention Jeffree Star's collaboration with the band, which was never officially released. **J-Dog has always continued to include these lines when they perform the song live though. *Da Kurlzz has more background screams during J-Dog's verse. Personnel ;Hollywood Undead ; ;*Charlie Scene - guitar, vocals ;*Da Kurlzz - vocals ;*Deuce - production, programming, vocals ;*Funny Man - gang vocals ;*J-Dog - keyboards, vocals ;*Johnny 3 Tears - vocals ;Additional *Josh Freese - drums *Ben Grosse - mixing *Billy Howerdel - additional engineering *Danny Lohner - production Trivia *The live version of this song was featured as a track on the live album, Desperate Measures. *It is rumored that the original title of this song was Out the Way, however, there is no proof of this. *The main riff of the song is that of Crazy Train, as originally performed by Ozzy Osbourne. *This song has the only music video that had to be heavily censored for broadcast due to it containing uncensored nudity. *This song is always played by the band live at all of their concerts, and is normally the first or second song performed. Category:Songs Category:Singles Category:Charlie Scene Category:Johnny 3 Tears Category:J-Dog Category:Deuce (HU) Category:Da Kurlzz Category:Swan Songs Category:Hollywood Undead (album) Category:2008 Category:Funny Man Category:Explicit Category:Music videos Category:Songs played live Category:Title after Lyrics Category:Official Lyrics Category:Written by Charlie Scene Category:Written by Deuce (HU) Category:Written by J-Dog Category:Written by Johnny 3 Tears Category:Produced by Deuce Category:Produced by Danny Lohner Category:All six